Philippines Transportation Stories

[JJReyes]

From Mactan International Airport to Cebu IT Park, the afternoon trip on a weekday took more than 2 hours.  The return trip to the airport on a Saturday morning was less than 30 minutes.  I recall someone had previously mentioned that Saturday mornings and Sundays are the best times to move around in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

During a previous trip to Manila, a niece adamantly insisted we allocate 3 hours from our Makati hotel to the airport plus another 3 hours check-in for an international flight.  The ride was around 25 minutes.  Add to that 20 minutes to get our pre-check boarding passes and immigration.  That's 5 hours wait in an uncomfortable chair.

Through a hotel booking company, I reserved a car from Mactan to our hotel at a cost of P2,000.  The car and driver never showed up.  (We requested and received a refund.)  An airport-based transport company offered us something similar for P1,000, which we accepted.  For the airport return, the hotel transport desk arranged for a Grab car.  The charge was P600.  A taxi might be cheaper, but many are dilapidated, non-working air conditioner, and filthy.

Similarly, since NAIA is very chaotic, we reserved a car through our hotel website at a cost of P2,500.  We learned there is a Grab counter at the terminal and the charge was only P380 to our hotel.  I avoid the airport taxi stand because the lines are long, and people are constantly trying to jump the queue.  

Friends told us they have a car and driver to take them to the office and return home in the evening.  In between, the car and driver join the vast Grab fleet.  Apparently, the revenue stream is substantial.  

 

[Freebie]

So Im on Siquijor with a girl. Day of departure we go to ferry terminal , return motor bike, and some 15 years old said I had made a scratch. I hadnt as I had pics of the bike when I collected it with scratch, but hey nice try kid.  Proceed to ferry terminal and guard sees tickets and says we should check with "office ". Walk back along jetty to " office " which is a wooden hut. Handwritten sign on office door says " ferry broken" fixed 4 days time.

Clearly we werent the only ones scheduled on that ferry as theres a long line already for next ferry on alternate company. We join the line and its clear that some are just rocking up on bikes , pushing to front and getting tickets. If I was alone I would have tried that too, but wasnt .Eventually we get near the ticket window , curtain closes and ticket girl says No More tickets. That was a concern as I had a flight booked back to Manila and onward flight to HK a few hours later.

What to do ? I recall Id seen a sign saying " flights", found some info on internet , called the number and it was a private plane company in Dumaguete. I said how much , they said P5000. Ok , so hired a trike to go to the airport, which was a landing strip but not yet in service.  Trike driver asked how much im paying for plane so offers P4000 for a banca, get closer to airport and its now P3000 then p2000. 

Get to airport terminal which is a small building ..Sir, pay  terminal fee.. no idea what i paid for there was no electricity, no toilet, just an office with bare walls, but I did get a receipt so i guess legit.

I call the number and ask wheres the plane, they said I should be able to see it soon. And there it was. Small 4 seater , lands, we get in with bags , take off and we can see the full ferry below. Get to Dumageute airport 10 minutes later , find an ATM to pay pilot ( Indian ) and get to flight and HK  relatively smoothly thereafter

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/25/2024 at 8:56 AM, JJReyes said:

A taxi might be cheaper, but many are dilapidated, non-working air conditioner, and filthy.

I don't find that in Cebu City. Years ago yes but not these days. You only have to look at the taxis lined up at the It Park Mall and none are old.

[hk blues]

Related (ish).

Taking my son to school this morning and we got caught in the usual bottleneck i.e. they expand what is 2 lanes into 3 which is fine until those 3 have to cross an intersection which comes out as 2 lanes!  However, today 2 cars decided they were unwilling to accept the reality and kept going regardless - the 1st got away with it but the 2nd decided he wasn't going to concede and kept going, clipping my driver-side mirror.  I immediately stopped and he did too - perhaps because the LTO officer was watching proceedings.  The guy started by saying I was in the wrong lane but both I and the LTO guy killed that one dead. There was no damage which was the motivation he needed to apologise, sheepishly.  They really infuriate me with their driving attitude.  

 

Edited February 26 by hk blues

[Possum]

13 minutes ago, hk blues said:

There was no damage which was the motivation he needed to apologise, sheepishly.  They really infuriate me with their driving attitude.  

Agree. That's why when people comment that the Filipino people are kind and polite I always ask, "Have you ever driven there?"

[Viking]

On 2/25/2024 at 11:22 AM, Freebie said:

So Im on Siquijor with a girl. Day of departure we go to ferry terminal , return motor bike, and some 15 years old said I had made a scratch. I hadnt as I had pics of the bike when I collected it with scratch, but hey nice try kid.  Proceed to ferry terminal and guard sees tickets and says we should check with "office ". Walk back along jetty to " office " which is a wooden hut. Handwritten sign on office door says " ferry broken" fixed 4 days time.

Clearly we werent the only ones scheduled on that ferry as theres a long line already for next ferry on alternate company. We join the line and its clear that some are just rocking up on bikes , pushing to front and getting tickets. If I was alone I would have tried that too, but wasnt .Eventually we get near the ticket window , curtain closes and ticket girl says No More tickets. That was a concern as I had a flight booked back to Manila and onward flight to HK a few hours later.

What to do ? I recall Id seen a sign saying " flights", found some info on internet , called the number and it was a private plane company in Dumaguete. I said how much , they said P5000. Ok , so hired a trike to go to the airport, which was a landing strip but not yet in service.  Trike driver asked how much im paying for plane so offers P4000 for a banca, get closer to airport and its now P3000 then p2000. 

Get to airport terminal which is a small building ..Sir, pay  terminal fee.. no idea what i paid for there was no electricity, no toilet, just an office with bare walls, but I did get a receipt so i guess legit.

I call the number and ask wheres the plane, they said I should be able to see it soon. And there it was. Small 4 seater , lands, we get in with bags , take off and we can see the full ferry below. Get to Dumageute airport 10 minutes later , find an ATM to pay pilot ( Indian ) and get to flight and HK  relatively smoothly thereafter

That was a great story!

Also the reason why I always plan to be close to the airport (same Island) the day before departure.

[Viking]

2 hours ago, hk blues said:

 I immediately stopped and he did too - perhaps because the LTO officer was watching proceedings.  The guy started by saying I was in the wrong lane but both I and the LTO guy killed that one dead. There was no damage which was the motivation he needed to apologise, sheepishly.  They really infuriate me with their driving attitude.  

Can't help wondering how this situation had developed IF the LTO officer hadn't witnessed it?

[Viking]

2 hours ago, Possum said:

Agree. That's why when people comment that the Filipino people are kind and polite I always ask, "Have you ever driven there?"

Traffic seams to bring out the worst sides of us humans but apart from that I actually do think Filipino people in general are very kind and polite. 

Definitely a lot better than in my home country, Sweden.

[JJReyes]

14 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

I don't find that in Cebu City. Years ago yes but not these days. You only have to look at the taxis lined up at the It Park Mall and none are old.

Manila taxis are much older, but what my wife wants are taxis to have a clean interior, working air-conditioner and seatbelts.  She has someone from the transport desk helping.  It may take several attempts to find one that is suitable.  The tip is generous to the hotel staff and driver.  The return trip is more difficult because you take the next taxi on the queue.  A telltale sign that the air-conditioner might not be working are two fans hanging from the front passenger seat.  Seatbelts for passengers are not required which means the buckles are sometimes hidden by after-market seat covers or they are pushed deep into the seat.  Taxi trips were daily either to the Ayala Center, SM Seaside or NuStar mall.  Ayala Mall is too small for our daily walks and has a limited selection of the types of restaurants we like.  

One thing nice about Cebu taxi drivers is they are very courteous.  My wife usually seats behind the driver and they would get off to open the door for her.  

[Clermont]

17 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

don't find that in Cebu City. Years ago yes but not these days. You only have to look at the taxis lined up at the It Park Mall and none are old.

In general I find the transportation in the Philippines has improved over the last few years, maybe I don’t notice it so much or I’ve lost my western expectations of how another countries transportation should be. I wonder if we compared one of our large cities to theirs, what would the outcome be, food for thought.